Special Guide
Back to school guide
The return to school and some sense of ‘normality’ for children is welcome and much needed.
From the children’s viewpoint things will be very similar to how they were in the Autumn term. They will be working in year group bubbles. We will be keeping movement around school to a minimum.
Download this guide
We’ve put together all the information on this page, plus a few extra bits, in a full colour 8 page booklet that you can download here.
We are aware that some parents/carers are concerned that their children will have forgotten or fallen behind. Please try not to worry; this is the same for all children and the teachers will continue to adapt the learning programme according to need.
There is a lot of information in this guide in an attempt to answer any questions you may have. If after reading you still have questions, please do contact us.
Face Masks / Coverings
Children do not need to wear face coverings or masks at school. However, we would ask adults coming on to site in the mornings and afternoons to please wear a face covering. Even with the seperate entrances there will still be bottle necks where distancing may be difficult. A face covering will reduce the risk in these situations.
At a glance
Drop off and collection
Where adults come onto site, this is still restricted to one per household and we kindly ask that they wear a mask.
MORNING START:
- The gates will open at 8.40am.
- Children can come on site and wait on the relevant playground for an adult to direct them in to the building
- Parents and Carers are asked not to enter beyond the barriers on the relevant playground
- Children in Reception to Year 3 may be accompanied onto site by one member from their household. Children in Years 4 to 6 should be left at the gate.
END OF THE DAY:
- At the end of the day children will be brought onto the playground to meet their parent/carer.
- Please help us to maintain social distancing expectations.
The School Day
School starts now at 8.45am for Years 1-6
(8.50 for Reception)
and ends at 3.20pm
(3.10 pm for Reception)
all week
The earlier start times and shorter lunch times introduced this year mean that the children have completed the dedicated school hours by Friday lunchtime.
However, we would like the children to stay on at school on Friday afternoons until 3.20pm. We are planning ‘Craft Afternoons’ to introduce them to the different Art & Craft techniques, which should be a wonderful, calming end to their week.
School Lunches
Our catering team continue to cook fresh food daily, including healthy and seasonal meals with a variety of choice. The current Menu is here:
School Dinner Menu 2021 (January – March)
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will have a school lunch every day, free of charge, funded by the government. This is called Universal Free School Meals.
School lunches for children in Years 3 to 6 must be paid for unless they are entitled to Free School Meals. The cost of a lunch is £2.20 per day.
Free school meals
Are you a low income household? Check out our Knowledge Hub Guides. Here you will find all the information, eligibility criteria and links to apply through the Cambridgeshire County Council website.
Lunches are booked at school. We encourage payment to be made in advance using Pupil Asset Parent App, our new communication and online payments system.
Bags
Could we ask that children do not bring rucksacks or bags into school. No equipment is needed and children should only bring their PE kits and packed lunch boxes.
PE Lessons
HPS will continue to provide high quality PE sessions during the Spring term with outdoor sports prioritised. As before, children will not change into PE kit before sessions. However, all children will need to bring a pair of appropriate, outdoor footwear into school on their PE days, using their drawstring PE bag.
Uniform
Do you need to buy school uniform before school reopens?
You can do so using the Pupil Asset Parent App. You can order and pay for uniform within the School Shop tab within the Pupil Dashboard. Please allow 2 working days from payment and uniform will be sent home with your child.
SUMMER UNIFORM – As the weather improves children might like to wear our lighter summer uniform options – a green checked dress (ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Next stock these online) or smart dark shorts. Shoes should remain dark in colour and smart – please no open toed shoes or sandals.
Staff are not able to take verbal messages on the playground.
Instead, if you need to contact us you can:
Talking to your class teacher
Message the teacher
Send a difrect message on Seesaw.
E-mail the office
Office@huntingdonprimary.cambs.sch.uk
Call the office
01480 375113
Pupil Asset Parent App
We have recently launched a new app (Pupil Asset Parent App) which will enable HPS parents to:
- Pay for school lunches
- Order and pay for school uniform
- Update your contact details
- Check attendance
The secure app is FREE to download for Apple and Android devices and you will not be charged for using it. If you prefer to use a computer, or you’d rather not use an app, you can login to the Parent Portal using a web browser http://secure.pupilasset.com
Sims Pay is no longer available for payments and all school meal balances have been transferred over to the new system.
Lateral flow testing for staff in education settings
The staff are now participating in the Government’s asymptomatic testing programme to help to protect everyone and break the chains of transmission of coronavirus (Covid-19) in schools by identifying asymptomatic positive cases as early as possible. Alongside the usual precautions, this helps us to enable the safest possible environment.
Extra precautions to help keep everyone safe and well.
The school cleaning team will regularly complete a thorough clean of the building, as they always do.
- There will be additional lunchtime cleaning.
- Extra cleaning materials will be placed in each class space and the outside zones for class based and lunchtime staff to use.
- Staff are fully briefed on expectations with regard to hygiene measures at school.
- To maximise ventilation, windows will be opened and doors propped open where safe to do so to encourage natural ventilation.
- Cleaning of play / outdoor equipment between groups
- Cleaning of other equipment for practical lessons between groups.
- Lunch tables cleaned between sittings
- Removal of unnecessary items from learning environments.
- Removal of soft furnishings, soft toys and toys that are hard to clean.
- Additional protocols, including provision of PPE, will be followed for cleaning any area where a person with possible or confirmed coronavirus has spent time.
We continue to follow the guidance from the local authority and public health protection team.
General Communication – Stay in touch
We are trying hard to put information out to parents and carers in as many ways as possible. The website is always up to date; this is where we store the latest letters and information. News is also posted on Seesaw and Facebook as appropriate.
Make sure that we can contact you via email to keep you up to date with all the latest school news and information.
